Manhattan: Rather’s CBS Suit Proceeds

A state judge ordered on Wednesday that parties to a lawsuit filed by Dan Rather against CBS, Viacom and executives of the companies prepare to share evidence. Mr. Rather filed the suit in September, saying that CBS violated his contract by giving him insufficient air time as a correspondent after forcing him to step down as anchor of “CBS Evening News.” The suit also asserted that CBS conducted a flawed inquiry into a controversial report by Mr. Rather about President Bush’s National Guard service that the network concluded was based on documents that could not be authenticated. CBS said Mr. Rather’s accusations were without merit and asked in November that the lawsuit be dismissed. Justice Ira Gammerman of State Supreme Court said on Wednesday that the parties should share evidence while he considered parts of the motion, and ordered lawyers to reconvene in two weeks.